The retail petroleum industry utilizes various types of fuel dispensers for dispensing fuel to customers. Some form of remote dispenser controller is traditionally used for controlling the actual dispensing of fuel by the fuel dispensers. The dispenser controller is often on the same premises as the fuel dispensers and coupled to a store interface unit so that a site attendant can monitor and control particular fueling dispensers from a building at the site (e.g., a gas station or other store). The dispenser controller sends data signals to the fuel dispensers providing various information and commands thereto. The information traditionally includes include price, preset amounts of fuel to dispense, and authorization to dispense fuel. The fuel dispensers likewise send data signals to the dispenser controller, traditionally including pump number, pump status, dispensed fuel volume, and sale value.
For fuel dispensers which allow local payment, some other form of Point of Sale (POS) system is traditionally used to control the payment functionality of the fuel dispenser. The POS system is often on the same site as the fuel dispensers and coupled to the store interface unit so that a site attendant can monitor and control particular fueling dispensers from a building at the site (e.g., a gas station or other store). The POS system sends data signals to the fuel dispensers providing various information and commands thereto. The information traditionally includes include user prompting controls, graphics, and media for display on the fuel dispenser's display screen. The fuel dispensers likewise send data signals to the POS system, traditionally including pump number, prompt status, transaction data, and sale value. Thus, traditionally, fuel dispensers must communicate with the POS system in order to complete a fuel purchase transaction, thereby requiring that secure data (e.g., payment details such as credit card information, customer PIN, etc.) be transmitted therebetween and accordingly be subject to fraudulent access and requiring that communication not be disabled or otherwise interrupted between the fuel dispensers and the dispenser controller for fuel purchase transactions to occur.
Some form of communication gateway is traditionally used to communicate with a remote source, such as a remote server or a network cloud, to receive updated information (e.g., updated price information, updated media, etc.) for transmission to the fuel dispensers via either the dispenser controller or the POS system. This communication model requires the fuel dispenser to communicate with the remote source with the communication gateway as an intermediary. The fuel dispenser is thus reliant on the dispenser controller, the POS system, and the communication gateway to receive updated information, which may cause service interruptions, site financial loss, and/or other inconveniences if the dispenser controller, the POS system, and the communication gateway loses network connectivity or becomes nonfunctional due to, e.g., power loss, component failure, incompatible software upgrade, etc.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improved methods and devices for fuel dispenser electronic communication.